Mother Sunrise
by “Sola Translatio” (“Alio Die” and “Opium,” or
Stefano Musso and Matteo Zini)
Hypnos Recordings, 2000
http://www.hypnos.com
This esoteric recording by two Italians who go under many pseudonyms is
definitely along the lines of the mystical American ambientmaster Robert
Rich. This is not a surprise, as “Alio Die” (Stefano Musso; the pseudonym
means “On another Day” in Latin) collaborated with Rich on the equally
arcane 1997 album Fissures. Like Rich, the Italian duo concentrate on
sustained and cool-textured synthesizer and sampled-instrument drones. They
use the same digital looping techniques as Rich, to create rhythm and
pattern. And like the American, the Italians use recordings of nature
sounds, such as water, crickets, frogs, bubbles, and random voices in
strange languages.
But unlike Rich, this pair do not usually use microtones ­ they stay within
conventional tuning in pleasing harmonies of fourths, fifths, and
wider-spaced elevenths and thirteenths, rather than Rich’s weird “just
intonation.” They also have taken the “eerie” out of the Rich style, leaving
out the wailing flutes, screaming sirens, and underground burblings. As a
result, “Sola’s” output is simply easier to listen to. The Italians’
abstract music of drones, minimal rhythms, and “found sounds,” rather than
being spooky or boring, spreads a calming layer of gentle sound over the
listener. It has a nocturnal but serene quality, and feels like the
soundtrack for long quiet hours in an elegant Oriental country retreat. It
evokes a place one would like to return to, rather than a nightmare from
which one struggles to wake.
HMGS rating: 8 out of 10
EER-MUSIC.com
10/13/01